VendastaCon: The Local Marketing Conference of 2018

The VendastaCon Promise

VendastaCon 2018 will teach companies, from entrepreneur to enterprise, how to transform their businesses into recurring revenue machines.

Why? Because local businesses are at a big disadvantage when it comes to competing against corporations, and need local experts like you to stand a chance. In order to succeed in local, companies must leverage the technology at their disposal—through SaaS marketing technology companies.

VendastaCon 2018 is the event for your business to achieve peak performance in local and build a company that thrives on the success of local businesses.

We also promise that we’re going to have one hell-of-a good time, because it wouldn’t be Vendasta without a party.

It's time to #ConquerLocal.

Words from our Charming Execs on VendastaCon 2018

Jackie and Brendan will both be taking the stage once again in the 2018 edition of VendastaCon, and you will not want to miss what they have in store for you.

Why VendastaCon is NOT Like the Other Conferences

This section is key.

First of all, VendastaCon 2018 is in beautiful Banff, and what’s more Canadian than a weekend getaway to Alberta’s favorite town?

Secondly, the open format of VendastaCon 2018 boasts unparalleled networking opportunities for all in attendance. You can be guaranteed to establish meaningful connections with experts, industry leaders, and the brightest minds in the space.

Thirdly, VendastaCon truly is the Conference for Local Marketing. This might sound repetitive, but only because it is the truth. Data packed insights and hands on learning opportunities will ensure that you can scale your agency into the recurring revenue machine that it is capable of being.

Jeff says it best:

Our first goal is to put on a meaningful conference with really actionable takeaways. But we're also going to put on a different kind of event. We're on this earth for a good time and not a long time so we're going to have some fun and take in one of the most amazing places on earth!

Jeff Tomlin

CMO, Vendasta

VendastaCon 2018 Agenda

I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty and spoil the entire event for you, but I simply want to wet your taste buds. Here is a quick overview of what you can expect for the first week of April:

I’m going to make it real simple for you and break these events into 4 overlying themes for the conference:

Data-Backed Insights from Industry Experts

With a spectrum of Vendasta representatives as well as numerous industry experts, you can be guaranteed to leave this conference with a wealth of data supported and actionable takeaways. Like Jackie said, this is going to be a very tactical conference with the type of elements that you can implement on Monday morning—not high in the sky and concentrated with theoreticals.

We will start by addressing what’s at stake in the industry and how it’s truly time to adapt or die. Through Vendasta’s connection to thousands of SMBs, we have collected mass amounts of data which allows us to provide very tailored insights into the problems SMBs are facing, and how to best accommodate their needs.

We will also have programming on how to sell and how to fulfill. Selling local is hard, but with certain tactics, scaling your agencies revenue will become a breeze. And lastly, we will directly address how to conquer the menace that is churn - and the answer is a grade-A fulfillment process.

Some relevant faces that will take the stage include those of George Leith, Jackie Cook, Gordon Borrell, Mark MacLeod, and many more that I don’t want to spoil for you.

New Industry Data

Innovation is vital to survival in the digital climate, and we place a very heavy owness on this at Vendasta. For this reason, we have invited speakers that are at the forefront of technological advancement to share their insight on the implications that innovation is going to have on the marketing and advertising sector.

You can expect appearances from speakers such as Google’s Ryan D’Mello as well as Dennis Yu of BlitzMetrics. Here is a sneak peak of what you can expect to see from Ryan D’Mello:

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are already transforming the technological landscape. From digital assistants to image-recognition software to self-driving cars, what was once the stuff of science fiction is now becoming a reality. But what exactly does it mean for marketing and advertising leaders? It could get us closer to one of advertising’s most-sought goals: relevance at scale.

Ryan D'Mello

Partner Enablement and Training, Google

Masterful Networking

You don’t find many more social people than us Vendastians, and we keep pretty good company too. So, what does this mean for you? It means that you can be sure to take part in some truly meaningful and personal interactions, and you are pretty damn likely to establish some connections that will remain valuable for years to come.

This is THE best place to meet the power players for local marketing and learn from the best.

Whether you want to join us on the peak of Sulpher Mountain, or take a shot at the karaoke title at Wild Bills, we are excited to spend some (very Canadian) time with you!

The More Fun / More Canadian Stuff

I kind of alluded to a couple of these activities already, but there’s more.

In addition to riding the Banff Gondola and hanging out on the top of a mountain, there will be plenty other opportunities to appeal to your more adventurous side. With an optional guided tour of the infamous Johnston Canyon, and ample time to take advantage of some of the best ski slopes in the world - your needs should be more than appeased.

And if the cocktails are more your speed, there will be a Vendasta style cocktail reception to compliment what is sure to be a pretty western night at Wild Bills on Wednesday.

At Vendasta, we are passionate about remaining agile in our space and pursuing constant improvement, and this conference will be no exception. If you are feeling enticed, a more in depth look at the agenda can be found here.

VendastaCon 2017 Highlights

2017 boasted numerous speakers from Vendasta as well as many more industry experts in their respective fields. Here are some of the highlights.

Dennis Yu

Dennis Yu is the Chief Technology Officer at BlitzMetrics, a digital marketing agency that has a focus on optimizing your marketing efforts through Facebook. Being that Dennis is pen pals with Mark Zuckerberg, I believe that he’s more than qualified to give his insight. His focus in 2017 was on how to utilize Facebook for hyper-targeted local marketing, and how to unlock it’s lead-gen capabilities while still fitting a budget.

Nykea Behiel

One of the major goals for Vendasta in 2016 was to generate leads through content, particularly organic leads. Vendasta’s (then) Director of Content used her own experience to explain 5 secrets of content marketing as well as the tactics needed for implementation.

Aside from the learning and networking opportunities, one of the most notable takeaways for attendees of the 2017 edition was truly the fun that they had. Some even made reference to the 80’s rock show vibe of the event.

But, if you are interested in reading more about the 2017 line-up and topics covered, feel free to visit our content library.

Conclusion

I don’t have any last motivational words to leave you with, I’ll save those for our highly talented and charismatic speakers at the conference. Now just do yourself a favor and grab some tickets here, and let us conquer local together.

About The Author

Brock is a Marketing Analyst at Vendasta with a passion for the more creative things in life. He also answers to Archie - for obvious reasons... And when he's not putting his fingers in paint, or saving Riverdale, he can usually be found asking Google one of the many more embarrassing "how to" questions.